The manga industry saw a record high by netting 612.6 billion yen – or for those in the States, about $2.55 billion – in sales from 2020. This record beats out the previous year by 23 percent and is the highest number since records began being kept in 1978.

In terms of the print manga industry, it actually rose since 2014, earning a pretty darn good 270.6 billion yen (or $2.55 billion). In no shock, though, the digital market grew exponentially with a great 31 percent increase, netting 342 billion yen (or $3.22 billion) since 2019’s figures.

While in and of itself, the reason behind the popularity is still up for debate, many enthusiasts chalk up Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba‘s strong sales as a huge contributing factor. Alongside that, some people crave the release of being in a COVID-19-ridden world, so people might’ve warmed up to the isekai genre and opened up – for a lack of a better word – a whole new world of anime to explore.

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